THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
Drawn by Ralph E. McAleer
SPANISH EXPLORERS CALLED THIS CARIBBEAN DIADEM "VENEZUELA"-LITTLE VENICE
Lake dwellings of the Indians reminded them of the old European city of gondolas and canals.
Visitors today find little similarity. Modern cities, paved roads, and thriving industries dot the
country, yet in the tropical forests primitive life goes on. Deep in the jungle, the author and her
husband lived at Quiriquire, a small colony of United States oil representatives. Streams are infested
with caymans, snakes abound in water and on land, but above, in the trees, coconuts grow and wild
orchids bloom in profusion.
For the rest, the native produce is dis
appointing. The potato is about the size
of a large lime. Lettuce is an inferior type
of the leaf variety, better for decorative
purposes than for eating. Oranges, as
stated, are small, green, and sour. Fresh
vegetables, such as peas and string beans,
are obtainable only on incoming boats.
BEANS TO CHALLENGE BOSTON
But the beans! Here, indeed, is the
Venezuelan staff of life. Red beans, black
beans, and white beans come in scores of
various flavors and sizes. When soaked
overnight and baked for five hours with
bacon and jalapefios, a Mexican pepper,
the round red beans make a delicious dish.
I could really wax eloquent on the subject
of beans.
The people of Venezuela reflect the
gaiety that is so integral a part of their
country. They have the happy hearts of
children and a love of life which has proved
itself unquenchable.
Along the river's edge the laundresses
laugh and sing together as they beat their
bright-colored clothes upon the flat stones
(page 130). Naked brown babies are merry
children of chance, who have no dread of
tomorrow as they eat their breadfruit and
bananas. And why not! For have they
not a hammock which swings them to sleep
like a lullaby, a roof of moriche palm, and
the fragrance of starflowers to woo them
into dreamland?
The tavern is peopled with pink-shirted
peons who shout in abandon as they place
their bets on the fighting cocks. From the
tiple, a stringed instrument resembling a
ukulele, the strains of La Cucaracha spice
the soft summer air.
HOSPITALITY OF PLAINS DWELLERS
The plains dwellers never cease to be a
source of wonder and delight to me. Their
hospitality exceeds anything I have encoun
tered. They are, in a material sense, in
credibly poor. They live in one-room mud
huts with thatched roof, whose sole furnish
ing is the hammock in which they sleep.
They have never seen a stove, nor even
heard about bread and butter. They cook
by means of a crude charcoal arrangement
in an old iron pot which is upheld by
stones.
Rice, platanos, breadfruit, and
casabe (cassava) form their daily fare.
They have no clothes, except the gar
ment they happen to be wearing at the mo-
100